I have a couple of points on that, if I may. COSEWIC did an intensive report and it's available on their website. Yes, they considered sea ice. They considered the importance of the annual sea ice, which will continue to form as long as the earth continues to rotate around the sun. So that's an important consideration.
Yes, they were concerned about the long-term implications of the loss of permanent sea ice, and they said that would have an impact over three generations.
For all of those reasons the independent science panel—not Environment Canada—has come with the assessment of special concerns.